Birds of Turkmenistan: The Complete List

Turkmenistan’s mix of desert, mountains and coastal wetlands makes it an interesting stop for migrating and resident birds, with pockets of surprising diversity across the Karakum, Kopet Dag and Caspian littoral. Whether you visit seasonal marshes or scan cliffs and steppe, a short list helps spot likely species and plan timing.

There are 119 Birds of Turkmenistan, ranging from Alpine Swift to Wood Sandpiper. For each species the table lists Scientific name,Size (length cm),Seasonality & habitat, and you’ll find the full list below.

When is the best time to visit Turkmenistan to see the most species?

Spring (April–May) and autumn (August–September) migrations bring the highest variety, with breeding species concentrated in late spring and summer; wetlands and coastal areas are most productive during migration, while upland and desert specialists are easier to find outside peak flood periods.

How should I use the columns (Scientific name, Size, Seasonality & habitat) for fieldwork?

Use the scientific name to cross-reference guides and apps, size to narrow similar-looking species at a distance, and seasonality & habitat to choose where and when to look—combine those columns with a local map and recent sightings (e.g., eBird) to plan efficient searches.

Birds of Turkmenistan

Images and Descriptions

Greylag Goose

The ancestor of most domestic geese, this large, grey goose has a stout orange bill. It winters in large flocks in Turkmenistan’s wetlands and fields, feeding on grasses and grains. Its loud, honking calls are a classic winter sound.

Greater White-fronted Goose

A medium-sized grey goose recognized by the prominent white patch at the base of its pinkish-orange bill. It often forms massive flocks with other geese during winter on the Caspian coast and inland wetlands, feeding on leftover grain.

Lesser White-fronted Goose

A smaller, darker version of the Greater White-fronted Goose with a distinct yellow eye-ring. This globally threatened species is a very rare sight in Turkmenistan, typically found mixed in with flocks of other geese in lowland areas.

Tundra Bean Goose

A large, dark goose with a stout bill that has a variable amount of orange near the tip. It winters in Turkmenistan, often foraging in agricultural areas. It is distinguished from other grey geese by its bill pattern and darker head.

Mute Swan

An enormous, elegant white swan with a bright orange bill featuring a prominent black knob at the base. It can be seen year-round in coastal areas of the Caspian Sea and on large inland reservoirs, often gliding gracefully on the water.

Whooper Swan

A very large white swan, similar to the Mute Swan but with a distinctive yellow and black, wedge-shaped bill. It is a noisy bird, whose loud, bugling calls echo across the wetlands it visits in Turkmenistan during the winter months.

Tundra Swan

The smallest of the white swans found in the region, often called Bewick’s Swan. It is identified by its bill, which has a smaller, rounded patch of yellow at the base compared to the Whooper Swan. It is an infrequent winter visitor.

Ruddy Shelduck

A striking, goose-sized duck of uniform orange-brown plumage with a paler head and a black tail. Widespread across Turkmenistan near water, it often nests in burrows or rock crevices. Its mournful, honking calls are very distinctive.

Common Shelduck

A large, boldly patterned duck with a dark green head, white body, and a broad chestnut band across the chest. It’s common along the Caspian coast and saline inland lakes, where it sifts through mud for invertebrates.

Marbled Duck

A small, subtly patterned pale brown duck with a distinctive dark patch around the eye. This globally vulnerable species is a prized sighting in specific wetlands in southern Turkmenistan. It prefers quiet, reed-fringed pools for breeding.

Red-crested Pochard

The male is unmistakable with his large, puffy orange head, red bill, and black body. A diving duck found on large inland waters, especially in the Amu Darya valley. Females are a plain sandy-brown with a pale cheek.

Common Pochard

A medium-sized diving duck. The male has a rusty-red head, black chest, and pale grey body. It is a common winter visitor on reservoirs and lakes across Turkmenistan, often forming large rafts of birds on the water surface.

Ferruginous Duck

A compact diving duck with rich chestnut plumage and a striking white eye in males. This Near Threatened species prefers quiet, reedy ponds in southern Turkmenistan. The bright white undertail coverts are a key feature in flight.

Tufted Duck

A medium-sized diving duck. The male is a sharp black-and-white, with a prominent crest hanging from the back of his head. It’s a common winter bird on larger water bodies throughout the country, often in large flocks.

Greater Scaup

A diving duck similar to the Tufted Duck, but the male has a grey back instead of black and a rounded, green-glossed head without a long crest. It is mainly found in winter along the Caspian Sea coast.

Velvet Scoter

A large, bulky, dark sea duck. The male is all black with a small white patch under the eye, while the female is dark brown. It is found almost exclusively on the Caspian Sea during winter, diving for mollusks.

Common Goldeneye

A stocky diving duck. The male is strikingly patterned with a dark, green-glossed, triangular head, a round white spot at the base of the bill, and a white body. Look for it on the Caspian Sea and large reservoirs in winter.

Smew

A small, striking diving duck. The male, often called the “white nun,” is mostly brilliant white with fine black lines and a black patch around the eye. A beautiful and sought-after bird on inland water bodies during the winter.

Goosander

A large, long-bodied diving duck with a thin, serrated bill for catching fish. Males have a dark green head, white body, and salmon-pink flush on the breast. It winters on larger rivers and reservoirs, including the Amu Darya.

Red-breasted Merganser

Similar to the Goosander but with a shaggy, double crest. The male has a dark green head, streaked breast, and grey flanks. It’s a common winter resident of the Caspian coast, adept at catching fish in saltwater.

White-headed Duck

A small, stiff-tailed diving duck. The male is unmistakable with his bright white head and brilliant blue bill. This globally endangered species is a rare but important wintering bird on wetlands, particularly in the south.

Caspian Snowcock

A very large, plump, grey-and-white partridge-like bird. It is a specialty of the Kopet Dag mountains, where its far-carrying, whistling call echoes across the high slopes. It is notoriously wary and difficult to approach closely.

Chukar Partridge

A handsome, rotund partridge with bold black-and-white barring on the flanks and a black line running through the eye and down to form a “gorget”. Its loud, chuckling call is a common sound in Turkmenistan’s foothills and mountains.

See-see Partridge

A small, sandy-coloured partridge. The male has a striking head pattern with a blue-grey face and a black stripe above a white patch. It is found in very dry, barren landscapes, often in the Kopet Dag foothills.

Black Francolin

A ground-dwelling bird with a distinctive, rasping call. The male is handsomely patterned in black with white spots and a chestnut collar. It is found in moist, scrubby habitats, particularly in southern Turkmenistan along river valleys.

Grey Partridge

A medium-sized, round-bodied partridge, subtly coloured in grey and brown, with a rufous face and tail. It is a bird of open country and farmland, often seen in small groups (coveys) foraging on the ground.

Common Quail

A small, secretive, and well-camouflaged gamebird. More often heard than seen, its distinctive, repetitive “wet-my-lips” call is a characteristic sound of early summer in grassy habitats and farmlands across the country.

Common Pheasant

A large, long-tailed gamebird introduced widely, but native to this region. The male is brilliantly coloured with a glossy green head and red wattles. It is common in the Amu Darya valley and other vegetated, lowland areas.

Little Grebe

A small, dumpy, diving bird. In summer, it has a dark body and a rich chestnut throat and cheeks. It is common on almost any small body of freshwater with vegetation, often announcing its presence with a high-pitched, trilling call.

Great Crested Grebe

An elegant waterbird, famous for its elaborate courtship dance. In breeding plumage, it sports a striking pair of blackish tufts on its head and a chestnut-and-black frill. Common on large, open water bodies across the country.

Red-necked Grebe

A stocky grebe, larger than a Black-necked. In winter, it’s grey and white with a dusky neck, but the key feature is the pale, yellowish base of its dark bill. It is an uncommon winter visitor, mainly on the Caspian Sea.

Black-necked Grebe

A small, slender-billed grebe. In breeding plumage, it’s black with a stunning golden fan of feathers on its cheek. It breeds colonially on inland lakes and disperses in winter, sometimes forming large flocks on the Caspian Sea.

Greater Flamingo

An unmistakable, very large pink-and-white bird with extremely long legs and neck, and a unique, bent bill. Large flocks are a spectacular sight along the Caspian coast, particularly in the Turkmenbashy Bay, where they filter-feed in shallow water.

Rock Dove

The wild ancestor of the feral pigeon. True wild Rock Doves are grey with a green-and-purple iridescent neck, a white rump, and two black wing bars. They are found on natural rock faces in mountains and gorges away from cities.

Hill Pigeon

Very similar to the Rock Dove, but distinguished by a broad white band on its tail. It inhabits higher elevations in the Kopet Dag and other mountain ranges, replacing the Rock Dove in these remote, rocky habitats.

Stock Dove

A medium-sized, uniform blue-grey pigeon lacking the white rump of the Rock Dove. It nests in holes in trees or cliffs. Look for it in wooded areas and agricultural landscapes, especially during migration through the country.

Common Wood Pigeon

The largest pigeon in the region, identified by its large size, grey plumage, and the prominent white patches on its neck and wings (most visible in flight). It is found in wooded parts of the country, particularly the Kopet Dag.

European Turtle Dove

A small, slender dove with a tortoiseshell-patterned back and a black-and-white striped patch on the side of its neck. Its gentle, purring song is a characteristic sound of summer. It is a migrant, spending winters in Africa.

Oriental Turtle Dove

Slightly larger and darker than the European Turtle Dove, with scaly-looking feather edges on its upperparts. The neck patch has black and grey stripes. It is a very rare visitor to Turkmenistan from the east.

Eurasian Collared Dove

A pale, sandy-grey dove with a narrow black half-collar on the back of its neck. Originally from this region, it has famously expanded its range across Europe. It is ubiquitous in human-inhabited areas throughout Turkmenistan.

Laughing Dove

A small, long-tailed dove with a pinkish head and breast and blue-grey on the wings. Its gentle, bubbling call sounds like soft laughter. It is a common bird in towns and villages in the southern parts of the country.

Pallas’s Sandgrouse

A unique, pigeon-like desert bird with a feathered face and feet, and long, pointed tail feathers. Known for its irruptive, nomadic movements, it flies long distances to waterholes, where males soak their belly feathers to carry water to their chicks.

Pin-tailed Sandgrouse

A beautifully patterned ground bird. The male has a chestnut throat and a black belly patch, and both sexes have long, pin-like central tail feathers. They gather in large, noisy flocks at desert waterholes in the early morning.

Spotted Sandgrouse

A pale, sandy-coloured sandgrouse lacking the black belly of other species. The male has a subtle blue-grey hind-crown and a pale orange throat. It is well-camouflaged in its desert habitat and is best seen when flying to water.

Black-bellied Sandgrouse

A large, robust sandgrouse with a distinctive black belly patch in both sexes. The male has a grey head and a chestnut throat. It is a common resident of the open, arid plains of Turkmenistan, often forming large flocks.

Great Bustard

One of the world’s heaviest flying birds. A magnificent, giant bird of open plains. Males are much larger than females, with a grey head and neck and a brown-barred back. Small numbers winter in the steppes of Turkmenistan.

Macqueen’s Bustard

A medium-sized bustard, superbly camouflaged in its sandy habitat. The male has a spectacular black-and-white neck pattern, which is flared during his remarkable courtship display. A quintessential bird of the Karakum Desert.

Little Bustard

A small, compact bustard. The breeding male is striking with a black neck and two white collars, but winter birds are sandy-brown and cryptic. They visit Turkmenistan’s open plains in winter, often in small, wary flocks.

Great Spotted Cuckoo

A large, slender cuckoo with a grey, crested head, spotted wings, and a long, graduated tail. Unlike the Common Cuckoo, it is a social bird. It is a very rare visitor to Turkmenistan, parasitizing nests of crows.

Common Cuckoo

Famous for its iconic “cu-ckoo” call and its brood-parasitic behaviour, laying its eggs in the nests of small songbirds. It is a slim, long-tailed bird resembling a small hawk, found throughout Turkmenistan in summer.

Eurasian Nightjar

A nocturnal bird with incredibly effective cryptic camouflage that makes it look like a piece of bark. Active at dusk and dawn, it is best known for its strange, churring song. It hunts flying insects on the wing.

Egyptian Nightjar

A pale, sandy-coloured nightjar perfectly adapted to desert environments. It is found in the Karakum Desert, where its churring call can be heard on still nights. Its pale plumage helps distinguish it from the Eurasian Nightjar.

Alpine Swift

A very large swift with a white belly and throat, separated by a dark breast band. It is a powerful flyer, spending most of its life in the air. Found in the Kopet Dag mountains, where it nests colonially on cliffs.

Common Swift

A superb aerialist, this sooty-brown bird has long, scythe-shaped wings. It spends almost its entire life airborne, even sleeping on the wing. Its screaming calls are a common sound over towns and mountains in summer.

Pallid Swift

Very similar to the Common Swift but slightly paler and browner, with a more noticeable white throat patch. It has a slightly slower wingbeat. It often breeds alongside Common Swifts in the southern mountains and towns.

Water Rail

A secretive bird of wetlands, more often heard than seen. It has a long, reddish bill and makes a variety of pig-like squeals and grunts. A glimpse may reveal its grey face and black-and-white barred flanks.

Corn Crake

A globally threatened species that is notoriously difficult to see. It is best detected by the male’s loud, rasping, repetitive “kerrx-kerrx” call, delivered from deep within dense vegetation during its migration through the country.

Spotted Crake

A small, secretive rail with a brown, black-streaked back, grey face, and white spots all over. It is very shy, preferring to creep through dense wetland vegetation. It is most likely to be seen during migration.

Little Crake

A very small rail. The male has a plain blue-grey face and underparts, while the female is buffy. Both have a green bill with a red base. It is incredibly secretive, found in the thickest parts of reedbeds.

Baillon’s Crake

The smallest crake in the region, similar to the Little Crake but with bold black-and-white barring on its flanks extending further forward. It is extremely skulking and a challenge to observe in its densely vegetated wetland habitat.

Eurasian Moorhen

A common and conspicuous waterbird, dark slaty-grey with a bright red frontal shield and bill tipped with yellow. It has a distinctive white line along its flanks and white undertail coverts, which it frequently flicks.

Eurasian Coot

A plump, black, duck-like bird with a striking white bill and frontal shield. It is often seen swimming in open water, unlike the more secretive rails. It can be very noisy and aggressive, especially during breeding season.

Demoiselle Crane

The smallest crane species. An elegant, mostly grey bird with a black neck, white plumes behind the eye, and drooping black feathers on the breast. They pass through Turkmenistan in large, spectacular flocks during migration.

Siberian Crane

A critically endangered, majestic all-white crane with black primary feathers visible in flight and red skin on its face. It was once a rare migrant, but is now only an exceptional vagrant in Turkmenistan on its former migration route.

Common Crane

A large, stately grey bird with a black-and-white head pattern and a tuft of red skin on the crown. Its loud, bugling calls are a magnificent feature of the spring and autumn migrations, when huge flocks pass over the country.

Eurasian Oystercatcher

A large, noisy, black-and-white shorebird with a long, stout, bright orange-red bill and pink legs. It is unmistakable and found exclusively along the Caspian coast, where it feeds on mollusks and other invertebrates on mudflats.

Black-winged Stilt

An incredibly elegant, black-and-white wader with absurdly long, thin, pink legs. It wades through shallow lagoons and marshes, picking insects from the water’s surface. Its sharp, yapping calls are a common sound in wetlands.

Pied Avocet

A striking black-and-white wader with a unique, long, thin, upcurved black bill. It feeds by sweeping its bill side-to-side through shallow water. Often found in colonies in saline wetlands, including along the Caspian coast.

Northern Lapwing

A common and distinctive plover with an iridescent dark green back, a long, wispy crest, and broad, rounded wings. Its acrobatic, tumbling display flight and “pee-wit” call are characteristic. Winters in large flocks across Turkmenistan.

Sociable Lapwing

A critically endangered plover that passes through Turkmenistan on migration. It has a striking head pattern with a black crown and eye-stripe bordered by a white supercilium. Finding one is a major highlight for any birder.

White-tailed Lapwing

An elegant, long-legged lapwing with sandy-brown plumage, a striking head pattern, and a pure white tail. It is a common breeder in wetlands throughout the country, often seen foraging at the water’s edge.

Grey Plover

A stocky, medium-sized plover. In its striking breeding plumage, it is spangled silver-grey above with a solid black face and belly. In winter, it is a uniform mottled grey. Found almost exclusively on the Caspian coast.

Common Ringed Plover

A small, compact plover with a single black breast band, an orange-and-black bill, and orange legs. It is a common sight during migration, running and stopping in classic plover fashion along shorelines.

Little Ringed Plover

Similar to the Common Ringed Plover but slightly smaller, with a plain black bill, duller legs, and a prominent yellow eye-ring. It prefers freshwater habitats and is a widespread breeder across Turkmenistan near suitable gravelly areas.

Kentish Plover

A small, pale plover with an incomplete black breast band and black legs. It is a typical bird of saline environments, from the Caspian coast to inland salt pans, where its pale plumage provides excellent camouflage.

Lesser Sand Plover

A medium-sized plover, dumpier than a Kentish. In breeding plumage, the male has a broad chestnut breast band. It is a passage migrant, stopping over on mudflats, distinguished from Greater Sand Plover by its smaller size and bill.

Greater Sand Plover

Larger and longer-billed than the Lesser Sand Plover. The breeding male’s chestnut breast band is typically narrower or less complete. It is a regular migrant along the Caspian coast, feeding on invertebrates on vast mudflats.

Caspian Plover

An elegant, long-legged plover of the dry interior. The breeding male has a broad chestnut breast band bordered below by a thin black line. It breeds in the arid steppes and passes through other open, dry habitats on migration.

Eurasian Dotterel

A beautifully patterned plover known for its tameness. The breeding female is brighter than the male, with a broad white eye-stripe, white chest band, and a chestnut belly. A scarce migrant, it passes through open, barren country.

Eurasian Whimbrel

A large shorebird, essentially a smaller version of a curlew with a shorter, decurved bill. It is easily identified by its distinctive head pattern, which features a pale stripe down the center of its dark crown. A migrant along the coast.

Eurasian Curlew

A very large, mottled brown wader with an impressively long, decurved bill. Its haunting, bubbling call is one of the most evocative sounds of wild, open country. Seen during migration and winter, especially on the Caspian coast.

Bar-tailed Godwit

A large wader with a long, slightly upturned bill. In spectacular breeding plumage, the male is a deep brick-red on its underparts. It is a passage migrant along the Caspian coast, undertaking one of the world’s longest migrations.

Black-tailed Godwit

Slightly larger and longer-legged than the Bar-tailed Godwit, with a straighter bill. In breeding plumage, it has a coppery-orange head and breast. In flight, its bold white wing-bar and black-tipped white tail are diagnostic.

Ruddy Turnstone

A stocky, short-legged wader with a unique, slightly upturned bill used for flipping over stones and seaweed to find food. In breeding plumage, it has a striking “harlequin” pattern of black, white, and chestnut. Found on the Caspian coast.

Ruff

A highly variable wader. Males in spring develop spectacular and individually unique ruffs and ear-tufts for display. In winter, they are much plainer grey-brown birds. They are common migrants, often seen in large flocks.

Broad-billed Sandpiper

A small, dark wader with a distinctive bill that is long and droops sharply at the tip. It has a prominent double supercilium (eyebrow stripe). A scarce but regular migrant through Turkmenistan’s wetlands.

Curlew Sandpiper

An elegant wader with long legs and a smoothly decurved black bill. In breeding plumage, it is a beautiful deep brick-red. It is a common passage migrant, probing for food in soft mud along the Caspian and inland lakes.

Temminck’s Stint

A very small, short-legged wader, plain grey-brown in appearance with yellowish or greenish legs. It has a distinctive flight, rising almost vertically like a snipe when flushed. It prefers muddier, more vegetated areas than other stints.

Sanderling

A small, plump, pale sandpiper famous for its behaviour of running back and forth with the waves on sandy beaches. In non-breeding plumage, it is one of the palest waders. Seen along the Caspian coast during migration.

Dunlin

The most common small wader in the region during migration. In breeding plumage, it is easily identified by its reddish back and large black belly patch. It has a moderately long, slightly drooping bill. Forms huge flocks.

Little Stint

A tiny, active wader with black legs and a fine-tipped bill. Often seen in large, fast-moving flocks with Dunlins. In breeding plumage, it has a warm rufous wash on its face and breast. A very common migrant.

Jack Snipe

A small, secretive snipe with a shorter bill than the Common Snipe. It is notoriously difficult to flush, exploding from underfoot only at the last second and flying a short distance before dropping back into cover.

Pin-tailed Snipe

Very similar to the Common Snipe and extremely difficult to identify in the field unless in the hand or by its different call. It is a regular but scarce migrant, mostly through the eastern parts of the country.

Great Snipe

Slightly larger and stockier than the Common Snipe, with more white in the tail corners. It tends to flush more readily and flies in a straight line, unlike the zigzagging flight of the Common Snipe. A scarce migrant.

Common Snipe

A medium-sized, long-billed wader with cryptic brown plumage. When flushed, it bursts from cover in a characteristic zigzag flight, giving a harsh “scaap” call. Its “drumming” display flight in spring is a remarkable sound.

Terek Sandpiper

A distinctive, active wader with a long, gracefully upcurved bill and short orange-yellow legs. It is constantly on the move, running along the water’s edge. A common migrant along the Caspian coast.

Common Sandpiper

A small wader that constantly bobs its rear end up and down. It has plain brownish upperparts and clean white underparts, with a white wedge extending up in front of the wing. Its stiff-winged, flickering flight is distinctive.

Green Sandpiper

A dark, almost black-and-white wader. It has sooty upperparts, a white rump, and dark underwings, making it look very dark from below. When flushed, it flies off with a loud, ringing “tlu-eet-eet-eet” call.

Spotted Redshank

An elegant wader. In its stunning breeding plumage, it is entirely sooty-black with fine white spots. In winter, it is a pale grey. It has long, dark red legs (in summer) and a slender bill. A common migrant.

Common Greenshank

A large, elegant, and wary sandpiper with long greenish legs and a stout, slightly upturned grey bill. Its loud, ringing “tyu-tyu-tyu” call is often the first indication of its presence. A common and widespread migrant.

Marsh Sandpiper

A very delicate and graceful wader, looking like a miniature Greenshank with a very fine, needle-like bill and long, thin legs. It breeds in wetland areas and is a common sight during migration throughout Turkmenistan.

Wood Sandpiper

A slender, elegant wader with spangled upperparts, a prominent white eyebrow-stripe, and yellowish legs. It is a very common migrant, often seen singly or in small groups in shallow freshwater habitats across the country.

Common Redshank

A medium-sized, noisy wader. It has bright orange-red legs, which give it its name. In flight, it shows a broad white trailing edge to its wings, a key identification feature. Its piping, anxious calls are very common.

Red-necked Phalarope

A small, delicate wader known for its unique feeding behaviour of spinning in circles on the water to stir up food. The female is more brightly coloured than the male and takes the lead in courtship. A common migrant on water bodies.

Slender-billed Gull

An elegant, medium-sized gull with a pale grey mantle, white body, and a long, slender, dark red bill. In summer, it often has a beautiful pink flush to its underparts. Common along the Caspian coast.

Black-headed Gull

The most common small gull in winter. Adults in summer have a chocolate-brown hood (not black), but in winter, they have a white head with a dark smudge behind the eye. A familiar sight throughout the country near water.

Little Gull

The world’s smallest gull. In flight, it looks very dainty and tern-like. Adults in summer have a jet-black hood and show dark, sooty-grey underwings, which is a key identification feature. A scarce but regular migrant.

Pallas’s Gull

A huge, powerful gull with a massive yellow bill tipped with red and black. In summer, it has a striking jet-black hood. It is a formidable predator and scavenger, often dominating other gulls at feeding sites.

Caspian Gull

A large, pale grey-and-white gull with a powerful yellow bill. It is the default “large gull” of the region. Common year-round, especially along the Caspian Sea, it is an adaptable scavenger and predator.

Lesser Black-backed Gull

A large gull, similar in size to the Caspian Gull but with a dark grey to blackish back and wings, creating a strong contrast with its white head and body. A regular visitor, mainly to the Caspian coast.

Gull-billed Tern

A stocky, gull-like tern with a thick, all-black bill. It lacks the deeply forked tail of many other terns. It hunts for insects and small reptiles over marshes and fields rather than plunge-diving for fish.

Caspian Tern

The world’s largest tern, almost the size of a medium gull. It is identified by its massive, blood-red, dagger-like bill. It is a powerful flyer and plunge-dives for fish, found along the Caspian and large reservoirs.

Black Tern

A small marsh tern. In breeding plumage, it is a striking smoky grey with a black head and belly. It has a graceful, buoyant flight as it picks insects from the water’s surface. A common migrant through wetlands.

White-winged Tern

A small marsh tern. The breeding adult is stunning, with a black body, white wings, and a red bill and legs. It is a common migrant and breeds colonially in some of Turkmenistan’s larger wetlands.

Whiskered Tern

Slightly larger than other marsh terns. In summer, it has a grey body, a black cap, and striking white cheeks. It flies low over the water, dipping to pick up food items. A common breeder in suitable wetland habitats.

Common Tern

A medium-sized, graceful tern with a deeply forked tail, a slender orange-red bill with a black tip, and long wings. A common and widespread tern, seen hunting for fish over most large water bodies.

Little Tern

A very small, delicate tern with a quick, shallow wingbeat. In breeding plumage, it has a yellow bill with a black tip and a white forehead patch below its black cap. Nests on sand and gravel bars.

Saunders’s Tern

Extremely similar to the Little Tern and very difficult to separate. It tends to have a slightly heavier bill and less white on its forehead. It is a rare vagrant to the Caspian coast from the south.

Black-throated Loon

A large, dagger-billed diving bird. In winter plumage, it is dark grey above and white below, with a clean demarcation on the neck. It is a regular winter visitor to the waters of the Caspian Sea.

Other Birds by Country